In the presence of the Buddha of Many Treasures and the Buddhas manifested all over the universe, Śākyamuni Buddha clearly explained the difficulty of propagating the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration. In response, various bodhisattvas vowed: “Even if we are regularly abused, despised, and banished from our dwellings by those possessed by demons, we will endure all for the sake of propagating the Lotus Sūtra.” Also, it is preached in the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor, in which four Buddhas appeared in four directions verifying the truth of Śākyamuni Buddha’s teaching: “When evil men are respected and good men are punished, the country will be invaded and destroyed by foreign troops.” Consequently, no matter how they despise and mistreat Nichiren Shōnin, the words of Śākyamuni Buddha and the verification of them by the Buddha of Many Treasures and the Buddhas manifested all over the universe will endure, so that the Lotus Sūtra will surely spread.

Shimoyama Goshōsoku, The Shimoyama Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 85-86

Grand Master T’ien-t’ai is a Chinese priest who appeared in this world as a messenger of the Buddha 1,500 years or so after the passing away of the Buddha. He wrote commentaries on the Lotus Sūtra, as many as 30 fascicles. In the seventh fascicle of his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, T’ien-t’ai states that various sūtras other than the Lotus Sūtra preach the attainment of Buddhahood only by men, not by women. Truthfully speaking, even men cannot become Buddhas through those sūtras, but let us concede for now that they can. Even then it is stated in all those sūtras that women will never become Buddhas. Even if thousands or tens of thousands sūtras allow women to become Buddhas, if this Lotus Sūtra does not allow them to become Buddhas, what can they depend on?

Zemmui-shō, Treatise on Śubhākarasiṃha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 55

The Nirvana Sūtra declares, “Rely on the dharma, not on the man; rely on the wisdom, not on the knowledge.” “Rely on the dharma” in this passage means to rely on the eternal dharma preached in the Lotus-Nirvana sūtras. “Rely not on the man” means not to rely on those who do not believe in the Lotus-Nirvana sūtras. Those who do not have faith in the Lotus Sūtra, even Buddhas and bodhisattvas, are not “good friends” (reliable teachers) for us in the Latter Age, not to mention commentators, translators and teachers after the extinction of the Buddha who do not believe in the Lotus-Nirvana Sūtras. “Rely on the wisdom” means to rely on the wisdom of the Buddha. “Rely not on the knowledge” means not to rely on the opinions of bodhisattvas in the highest stage and below.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 59-60

No matter how serious my sin is, I am nothing but a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. In the same way, a person who chants “Namu Amida-butsu,” is a “nembutsu practicer” no matter how serious the crime committed. Because I chant “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō,” I have been maligned, beaten, exiled, and even faced the loss of my life. Nevertheless, I have never stopped encouraging people to chant the daimoku. How can anyone say that I am not a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra?

Matsuno-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Matsuno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 69

[T]he people today in Japan are all guilty of slandering the True Dharma in previous existences, and they are committing the same grave sin in this life by harming the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. As a result, they are all destined to fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. However, the Nirvana Sūtra preaches the doctrine of “reducing the karmic retribution,” showing the way to atone for serious sins committed in the past in this life. The “Peaceful Practices” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra also preaches that Never Despising Bodhisattva extinguished the sin of slandering the True Dharma for himself and others by enduring persecutions in this life. Likewise, the numerous persecutions I have endured are to save all the people in Japan from falling into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. Successive natural calamities that confront the country of Japan and the threat of foreign invasion of Japan are the means through which the Japanese people may reduce the karmic retribution for their sin of slandering the True Dharma in the past existences.

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 63

A tree planted will not fall by a heavy wind if it is provided with a strong support. Even a tree that sprouts and grows naturally will fall if it does not have strong roots. Likewise, a feeble person will not fall if he has a strong supporter but a healthy person, walking alone, will stumble on a rough road. What is more, everyone in all the worlds in the universe, except Venerables Śāriputra and Kāśyapa, would have fallen into the three evil realms (hell, realm of hungry souls, and that of beasts and birds) if the Buddha had not appeared in this world to preach His Dharma. However, many of them were able to attain Buddhahood due to the strong tie of having embraced the teaching of the Buddha. Furthermore, such evil persons as King Ajātaśatru and Angulmāla, who were destined to fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering, were able to become Buddhas solely because they had the good luck of encountering a great man, Lord Śākyamuni Buddha.

Therefore, the best way to attain Buddhahood is to have a “good friend” (zen-chishiki).

San Sanzō Kiu no Koto, Concerning the Prayer Services for Rain by Three Tripiṭaka Masters, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 203-204.

Although I am not one of those bodhisattvas who emerged from underground, I know that those bodhisattvas will appear in the Latter Age of Degeneration. So, I, as a forerunner of those great bodhisattvas, show the essential dharma, the five Chinese characters of the Wonderful Dharma, in a preliminary manner to the people. It is like the blue bird foretelling the appearance of Hsi-wang-mu (a fairy in ancient China) or a magpie chattering before the arrival of a guest.

Soya Nyūdō-dono-gari Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Lord Soya, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 172.

[In the sixth month of the 3rd year of the Kenji era (1277), Nichiren Shōnin wrote a letter of explanation in place of Inaba-bō Nichiei, a disciple of Nichiren, and submitted it to Nichiei’s father, Shimoyama Hyōgo Gorō Mitsumoto.]

As we all know, the rulers of Japan are able to do anything they wish. In a lawsuit, the rulers should call both sides to a meeting in order to listen to what each will say to the other to come to a judgement. Why is it when that only in the case of Nichiren Shōnin, they did not hold such a meeting in which he would be allowed to meet in debate against the masters of the other sects before being sentenced to such a serious punishment? This is nothing but a breach in proper conduct!

Even if Nichiren Shōnin were a felon, such illegal treatment would throw the administration of our country into chaos, with peace lost. Looking at the “Jōei Code,” we find fifty-one articles and a written pledge at the end. The first and second articles concern the religions of Shinto and Buddhism. The authorities tried to behead Nichiren Shōnin, who upholds the Lotus Sūtra, the most substantial sūtra of all Shinto and Buddhist scriptures, without allowing him to meet in debate with the monks who slandered him, trusting only in their false accusations. Thus, there might have been many other occurrences in which the shogunate broke their vows in the “Jōei Code,” but the greatest blunder was the one committed against Nichiren Shōnin. Were they inadvertently destroying themselves as well as our country because of their intense hatred of Nichiren Shōnin?

In ancient China, Duke Ai of Lu is believed to have said that the worst kind of forgetfulness was one who moved house but forgot to take one’s wife! To this, Confucius is credited with saying that some even forget who they are, such as the rulers of a country who err in governing. Were the rulers of Japan unaware of this? Even if they were, they cannot escape from their serious crime of being formidable enemies of the Lotus Sūtra.

Shimoyama Goshōsoku, The Shimoyama Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 85